Confession with a Big Cat
by Mrs.KayDeeEm
Summary: A ficlet in which Rick, Michonne, Daryl, and Carl are headed to Terminus after their run-in with the Claimers. Rick makes a confession to Michonne and gives her a small gift. Short and sweet Richonne one-shot.


Rick walked along the leaf covered tracks, his head down, preoccupied. Michonne quickened her pace slightly to catch up with him. The sound of her faster footsteps through the dead leaves brought Rick to the tracks, and out of his head. Rick looked straight ahead and then over at Michonne.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Michonne answered.

"I'm okay," Rick offered.

"I know," Michonne said plainly.

"How?" Rick asked, puzzled.

" 'Cause I'm okay too."

Rick walked ahead of the group. He approached another Terminus sign which had fallen from its post and was lying on the ground underneath some fallen leaves. Rick used his foot to scrape leaves from the sign.

"We're getting close," Daryl sounded hopeful. "Be there by sundown."

Rick sounded authoritative. "Now we head through the woods. I think we should find a place to camp. We can leave at dawn and surveil Terminus for a while before we enter. We don't know who they are. We need to see them before they see us."

They traveled perpendicular to the tracks for over an hour. The group was quiet except for the occasional conversation between Carl and Michonne or Daryl and Carl. Rick kept to himself, lost in thought. Rick was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of his footsteps, and only his footsteps. The others had stopped in their tracks.

"Don't look half bad," said Daryl.

"It'll be nice to sleep under a roof tonight," added Carl.

"We still need to check it out," declared Rick.

Each one cautiously approached the mobile home. Daryl and Michonne headed around the sides of the trailer to check it out. Carl peered underneath. Daryl beat the aluminum siding to stir up any walkers that might be on the inside. On the other side, Michonne peeked in the window. Rick waited until he was sure no one, or nothing, was inside. He braced his shoulder against the door and busted through the door. It was clear that items in the trailer had been tossed about, but it hadn't been totally ransacked.

The sun was going down.

"Carl, why don't you and Daryl see what you can find inside? Michonne and I will set up these noise lines and take a look around out here," Rick announced from the doorway.

"I'm calling dibs on any mattresses," Daryl announced, rushing towards the door ahead of Carl. Carl tried to shove Daryl as he passed Carl. Rick chuckled, and was nearly knocked down as Carl and Daryl hurried into the trailer.

Rick turned to Michonne. Rick's grin was mirrored by Michonne. Michonne sucked her teeth. "Teenagers" she joked as her smile widened. "Let's get these lines up."

Rick and Michonne worked like a well-oiled, yet silent, machine. As one was focused on the task at hand, the other kept careful watch. Before long they had tied rope and cans to trees and bushes all around the trailer, with very little rope or twine to spare.

"Thanks for helping," Rick said in a low voice.

"This is our new normal. Why are you thanking me now?" Michonne sounded a little suspect.

"I just wanted to talk to you and I wasn't sure how to start. Can we sit down?"

Rick and Michonne sat shoulder to shoulder with their backs against the door of the trailer. Each scanned the forest, always mindful of the threat. They could hear Daryl and Carl laughing and joking inside. They sat in silence for a minute enjoying the happy noise from inside.

Rick spoke in a low voice, to avoid attention from walkers nearby or by Carl and Daryl. "It's good to hear both of them laugh after . . . "

Rick fell silent. He changed the subject. "I have something for you."

Michonne's head spun around to look at Rick. Rick looked straight ahead as he reached into his jacket pocket. He held his hand open. Michonne looked down and quietly gasped, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"I found this in that house we cleared yesterday."

"You don't want to share this with Carl?" she asked.

"No, Michonne," Rick made eye contact with her, "I want you to have it."

She took the bar from his hand. She held it for a second, grinning ear to ear. She gazed at Rick. She then opened the wrapper and took a deep breath, taking in all of the chocolaty smell from her gift. She held the bar over to Rick to offer him the first bite.

"I've never been much of a candy person. You enjoy it."

Michonne bit into the bar and let out a satisfied sigh.

In between bites Michonne realized that Rick had become silent again.

"Rick?" she asked quietly.

Rick looked down.

"It's all right," she said lightly. "Don't second guess your choices when it comes to our safety. Besides, Carl is okay. And so is Daryl. I'm okay. You said you were okay.

Rick looked squarely at Michonne. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I want to say this. . . I _am_ okay. I have been since you knocked on that door a few days ago." Rick looked down. "I told you Carl needs you, but I need you too."

They sat in silence for what seemed like eternity. Michonne took another bite of the candy bar. Rick began mentally berating himself.

Finally Michonne's voice matched Rick's quiet tone. "I need you too."


End file.
